Honolulu Rail Transit could be big winner in Obama budget

Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Senator Daniel K. Akaka, U.S. Representative Mazie K. Hirono and U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa released a statement saying the Obama Administration requested $250 million for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project for fiscal year 2013, the largest amount for any rail project in the country.The money would come from the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts program.

"I am very pleased that the Honolulu Rail Transit Project is the administration's top New Starts funding request for the coming fiscal year. Like any large, publicly funded project, there are bound to be questions and concerns about how best to proceed. But the facts remain that the successful construction and timely completion of this project will create jobs, decrease our dependence on imported oil, and offer a long awaited alternative to driving for thousands of working families on the West side of Oahu. I have participated in rail transit discussions in Hawaii and Washington for the last forty years and I can say, without reservation, that the support we currently enjoy from the government of the United States is unprecedented. To ignore this support would be a big mistake. I will continue to do everything I can to direct federal funds to the project and marshal support in the Congress. But we must work together, at all levels of government and throughout the community, to ensure that we do not waste our best opportunity to revolutionize the way we move about Oahu," said Senator Inouye.